Doka Estate

Set amid rolling coffee fields 10km north of Alajuela, signposted off the road to Volcán Poás, the Doka Estate is one of the most historic coffee farms in the country. The Vargas family have been growing beans here for over seventy years – their beneficio (water mill) is the oldest in Costa Rica – and today produce a variety of roasts for Café Tres Generaciones. Enthusiastic guides cover the entire coffee-making process (the longer Friday morning tour also includes an ox-cart ride around the plantation), and finish with a free tasting – look out for their Peaberry Estate, a smooth medium roast containing the caracolillo bean, a mutation that gives the cup a sweeter flavour. You can also visit their new butterfly farm (included in the price), and grab lunch at the on-site restaurant.

Doka has its own café a couple of kilometres beyond the turning off the main road to Poás, where you can sample the estate’s various brews in an attractive setting (see La Paz Waterfall Gardens).